The Arecaceae or palm is a monocot family containing some 200 genera and between 2000 and 2500 species distributed mainly in the tropical regions of Central America, northern South America and East Asia. The most familiar image of palms is the large, compound, evergreen leaves arranged at the top of an unbranched stem, but they are actually morphologically quite diverse. Palms include woody shrubs, vines and trees, the leaves of which are alternate and palmately or pinnately cleft. The flowering inflorescences are usually paniculate with small and radially symmetrical flowers. and the fruits are usually drupes. Palms are one of the most recognizable and widely cultivated plant families in the world. Madagascar has one of the highest diversities with more species than is present in continental Africa.